Concern

Sephiroth sighed. His second-in-command never ceased to amaze him. Somehow, though they were crammed in the back of the smallest transport truck that he had ever seen and were traveling on a bumpy road, Zack had managed to fall asleep and on him nonetheless.

Cursing whoever had decided it was acceptable for them to ride in a 6 by 6 foot area between boxes of cargo, he made another attempt to push Zack away.

Zack didn't even stir. Sephiroth glared at him and flexed his hand, trying to get some feeling back in the arm that the unconscious man had been leaning heavily against for the past half hour, according to the watch Zack was wearing.

It wasn't just that he was uncomfortable, he was also bored. Incredibly bored. He hadn't brought anything to keep him occupied, because he figured Zack would talk his ear off about everything and nothing, as he usually did when they traveled anywhere for missions. But instead, Zack had decided he would make a good pillow.

Of course, Zack hadn't intended to fall asleep, the rational part of his brain was thinking. He'd been sleeping poorly as of late, after all. The other part was sure that Zack was doing this just to irritate him, because he thought it was funny. He might even have thought that Zack was faking it, if it weren't for the fact that he was almost dead weight and he was snoring very convincingly.

Sephiroth leaned his head back against the stack of boxes behind him, figuring that if Zack had no intention of moving, he might as well relax. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

He had nearly managed to doze off when the truck hit a bump in the road. There was a loud smack as Zack's head connected with the armor on his shoulder.

Zack swore and moved away, hand covering his face.

Sephiroth pushed a box that was threatening to fall on them back into place. "Are you injured?"

"Nah." Zack rubbed his forehead. "Not a nice way to wake up, though."

"That wouldn't have happened had you not decided to use it as a pillow."

Zack looked sheepish. "Sorry 'bout that. I've just been so damn tired lately..."

"Still having nightmares?" Sephiroth said.

Sephiroth knew that Zack had been trying to hide that fact from him for some reason, even though he'd had one every time he'd slept on Sephiroth's couch in the past month. The way he'd cried out had even woken Sephiroth the few times he'd actually been asleep.

"How do you know about that?" Zack asked, brow furrowed slightly.

"You've slept on my couch a dozen times in the past month," Sephiroth said, hoping Zack would catch his drift.

Zack sighed. "Guess the secret's out then..."

"Why haven't you spoken to anyone about it?" Sephiroth asked. "That's why there are counselors working for Shinra now."

"Yeah, right," Zack said, frowning. "I can see the headlines now...'Great Sephiroth Hires Nut Job To Be Second-In-Command'."

"If you are a 'nut job', then I'm completely psychotic," Sephiroth said. It felt odd having to reassure Zack and not the other way around as it usually was. He chocked it up to the fact that Zack was sleep-deprived and obviously not thinking rationally.

"You mean you're not?" Zack said. "Where've I been?"

Leave it to Zack to still joke around, despite obviously being in a bad mood.

Sephiroth pretended he didn't hear the comment and instead fixed Zack with a cool stare. "Do not force me to issue an order for you to go."

"Seph..." Zack protested, looking at him like a child who had just been informed that they were going to the doctor.

"I am concerned, as your General, about your performance," Sephiroth said. He paused and cleared his throat before continuing, speaking much softer, "but I'm also concerned about your well-being...as your friend."

Zack looked at him for a moment in silence, his lips curving into a small smile. Then he nodded. "I'll go as soon as we get back."

"I will keep you to that," Sephiroth said, and he meant it. He was tired of seeing Zack this way; he missed the Zack who would sit on his desk on top of his important papers and crack terrible jokes, the one who would give his all when they would spar, even though he knew he would lose, and most of all he missed the Zack who seemed to radiate cheerfulness.

He would have his best friend back, no matter what he had to do to make it happen.